Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization, today released “Map the Meal Gap 2012,” which provides estimates of food insecurity at the state, county and congressional district level for 2010. Food insecurity  is a social and economic condition where there is limited or uncertain access to adequate food, commonly known as “those at risk of hunger”.

The map also provides updated data on the additional money required to meet food needs, the average cost of a meal, and income bands within food insecure populations.

How many in Texas and in CAFB’s service territory suffer from hunger?

Similar to the rest of the nation,  there is no county in Central Texas free from food insecurity.  Texas and our 21-county service territory, fares worse than the national average of 16.6%. One in six Central Texans is at risk of hunger.

What would it take to solve this problem?

We know that providing millions of dollars in cash assistance to every food insecure person would not end hunger.  Because hunger is both an economic and social condition, issues such as food systems and access, nutrition education, and sustainability must also be addressed.

Food banks play an important role in providing hunger relief, but the data shows that we cannot do it alone, nor should we. Hunger isn’t a charity problem, it’s a national problem that requires the commitment of our nation’s leaders.

What can you do today?

Yesterday, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a Farm Bill that includes a $4 billion cut from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) also known as food stamps.  While the proposed budget cuts are not as severe as the House Committee on Agriculture’s budget which slashes SNAP by $33 billion, it still speaks to the misguided priorities of many in Congress.

We need you to call and write to your Congressional leaders today and let them know that hunger is unacceptable and that reductions in anti-hunger programs is not the way to address the hunger crisis.   You can contact your elected official and learn more about the Farm Bill through our website.

How can I learn more about the Map the Meal Gap?

Visit  http://j.mp/MapTheMealGap.

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released their annual study on food access and adequacy, food spending, and sources of food assistance for the U.S. population.

Nearly one in five Texans are at risk of hunger, the second highest rate in the nation.

For the past four years, the percentage of food insecure individuals in Texas has been on a steady growth and Texas has been consistently above the national average.

Food insecurity, or people at risk of hunger, can be defined as the inability to obtain adequate, healthy, affordable food in socially acceptable ways. Food insecurity may occur because families cannot reach food, lack access to stores selling affordable food, and in the case of natural disasters such as the wildfires. Obesity, diet-related diseases, absenteeism from work and school, and mental health issues are at greater risk in individuals suffering with food insecurity.

For the first time, a joint release by the Texas Food Bank Network and Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative measures and describes in detail the pervasive hunger problem at the county level. The report also provides a blueprint on how to end hunger in Texas through specific actions at the grassroots level that will broaden access to resources and engage in policy change. This “blueprint to end hunger” incorporates the newest national data on hunger made available by Feeding America, along with U.S. Census data and statewide data on usage of federal and state programs. Download the full report (74MB).

Hunger and food insecurity is a preventable and solvable public health issue. Join us in the fight to end hunger by taking part in Hunger Action Month activities.

Food hardship is the inability to buy enough food for the household because of lack of money. Unlike the USDA’s food insecurity data, food hardship is determined from one question: “Have there been times in the past twelve months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” Food insecurity, on the other hand, is determined from a series of questions that evaluate access to food in economically and socially acceptable ways, the ability to sustain access to food, and the quantity and quality of available food. Answers to these questions place individuals and households on a spectrum of food security ranging from high food security to very low food security (formerly known as hunger).

The Advantage of  Food Hardship Data

This new data collected by Gallup as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (GHWBI) provides insight into the hardship Americans face in putting food on the table. Never before has there been such localized and up-to-date data available on a quarterly and annual basis.

How does Central Texas compare to the state and the nation?

Food hardship for the nation ranged from 16.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to a high of 19.5 percent in 2008 and dipped slightly to 18.5 percent in 2009. While no state in the nation had a food hardship rate below 10 percent, Texas is one of 20 states with a food hardship rate of 20 percent or higher. At 20.9 percent in 2009, Texas ranks 13th worst in food hardship. The Many Eyes graphic below shows food hardship rates for the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and congressional districts in Central Texas for 2008-2009.

What’s clear is that food hardship affects every county, every city and every congressional district in the nation. Central Texas stands out in some aspects as doing slightly better than other parts of Texas, but not enough to declare that we do not have a serious problem on our hands.  We do have a problem, one that needs to be addressed by fixing the SNAP eligibility system, sufficient funding for the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, and supporting the Food Bank as we provide immediate food relief.

Further Reading:

Gallup-Healthways Well Being Index

Food Research and Action Center – Food Hardship: A Closer Look at Hunger

Measuring Household Food Security (USDA)

Elizabeth, 9, says she would give half to the Boys and Girls Club of South Austin and half to other charities. She lives with her parents and three younger siblings.

She says one of the happiest moments in her life was when she met her father, previously incarcerated, for the first time at the age of four. “As soon as he came home,” she recalls, “he picked me up and twirled me around.”

When we asked her how she likes the food at Kids Cafe, a CAFB sponsored program, she says “It’s yummy! The Food Bank puts a lot of time into delivering it.” If there wasn’t a Kids Cafe, she says “I would feel like they didn’t care about us. I probably wouldn’t come to Boys and Girls Club anymore. They know we’re hungry after school.”

Elizabeth hopes to be a doctor or a nurse someday (her mom is currently training to be a nurse). She’s in elementary school and says she is often hungry during the day. “When I miss breakfast, I’m hungry all day,” she says. “I feel grumpy like the Grouch in the trash can on Sesame Street.”

Can you imagine what it’s like to be food insecure? To not know when or where your next meal will come from? Do you know someone that’s experienced or experiencing hunger? We love to hear your stories. Share your comments with us below.

Lisa Goddard
Advocacy and Online Marketing Director

When a Texas school district shut its doors for a couple of weeks as a precaution for the H1N1 (Swine) Flu this past week, parents whose children rely on the free and reduced price school lunches faced an additional challenge. 

How will these parents financially support unplanned child care and keep their children well nourished for two weeks?

Disasters, from hurricanes to pandemics, interrupt employment and sever access to human service programs. Pandemic flu preparation and response methods, such as stockpiling food and water, pose a significant hardship for those struggling to have the basic necessities each day.  While pandemic flu does not discriminate, low-income people are particularly vulnerable in the event of an outbreak.

In addition to creating their own disaster response plan (read ours here), Food Banks work closely with federal, state, and local officials in distributing food, communicating information about food stamp access during a disaster and helping to expedite disaster food assistance through D-SNAP. 

What is D-SNAP?
The Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) provides replacement benefits for SNAP recipients during disaster. Eligibility criteria are broadened, and a streamlined application and issuance process extends benefits to households that would not ordinarily be eligible for SNAP. D-SNAP, like SNAP, is fully federally-funded and administered by states. Because federal nutrition programs are entitlements, they can respond quickly and effectively without waiting for further legislative action.   

While D-SNAP has a proven track record of effective relief after hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, the program needs improved flexibility so it can respond appropriately during a pandemic. Government and nonprofits will also need to work collaboratively and creatively to ensure we can meet the need.  The Capital Area Food Bank has been in contact with legislative representatives to address those concerns and offer suggestions to ensure food security in the case of a pandemic flu outbreak.

 A short personal story
 I was an AmeriCorps VISTA at the Food Bank when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast.  Since then, I have also been part of the Hurricane Ike response efforts at the Food Bank, where my role included increasing access to SNAP. As humbling of an experience it is to participate in disaster response here in Austin, I could not help but think of the many poor who were forgotten and disregarded.  Our shared responsibility to nourish the hungry is even greater in moments of crisis.

Thank you to our friends, Tyson Foods, Hum. Minds at Work., MediaSauce and Kompolt for joining forces to help raise awareness about childhood hunger in America!

 The Pledge to End Hunger is a critical step in changing people’s thoughts about how we treat our youngest neighbors, and what social conditions are unacceptable. It takes bold leadership to create social change, and we applaud this effort to bring the hunger conversation to the social media landscape.

How it works:

One Click Feeds 140 Kids
By signing an online pledge to share the website with others, volunteer, and/or give financially, you’re helping to bring a 35 lb food donation from Tyson to CAFB. That means every person who joins the movement will help feed 140 children. With 1,000 people taking the pledge, we can make sure the Tyson semi-trailer will arrive in Austin during the SXSW ’09 interactive festival.

Join the Wall of Champions
Help promote this website so we can meet the goal of 1,000 pledges. The national co-captains are Chris Brogan and Beth Kanter. The website includes a list every individual, corporation, and non-profit helping us promote the Hunger Pledge. To become a Champion, all you need to do is:

• Sign the Hunger Pledge
• Write a blog post (if you have one) endorsing the Hunger Pledge 
• Encourage others to join you 
• The website will have a wide variety of social media sharing tools, banners, avatars, and other tools to make it easy for you to share and promote. (Note: The Twitter hashtag is #HungerPledge.)

But wait – there’s more!
If we surpass 1,000 pledges, Tyson has agreed to send up to two more truckloads of food to the states that generate the most pledges. So by helping send a semi-trailer truck to CAFB, you can send a truckload of food to another community, too.

Side Note
For more ways you can help address food insecurity in Texas children, send a letter to your Texas Legislative Representative in support of Senate Bill 944 (SB 944).

David Davenport, President & CEO – The digital clock flashed from 2:05 a.m. to 2:06 a.m. – well past this blogger’s bed time. Since the little hamster won’t stop turning the wheels in my head, I’ll recap my day and share some thoughts I’ve finally been able to express.

Earlier Wednesday evening, I drove up to Dallas with two missions in mind. First, a scheduled doctor’s visit, and second, to meet with the Texas Food Bank Network. As the TFBN Finance Committee Chair, I lead the regular summer meetings on Friday mornings. Ok, not quite as exciting as a trip to Six Flags, but my doctors are good people, and it’s always good to see my TFBN friends.

I enjoy picking new spots to take a short break each time I go to Dallas. At this particular rest stop, there were no strange or interesting characters to chat with, so I entertained myself with a sun-weathered Houston Chronicle I found in my back seat.

Dr. Norman Borlaug

The Houston Chronicle, has a special interview section called “Sunday Conversation”. The featured guest was Norman Borlaug, one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.

From the introduction:

Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his work in developing more productive strains of wheat and working to ensure their adoption around the world. During a recent phone interview with science writer Eric Berger, the 94-year-old distinguished professor at Texas A&M University said there are no simple solutions to the current crunch in food prices.

What the author failed to mention is that, in addition to winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Borlaug was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. He’s known as the “Father of the Green Revolution” and, back in 1970, his work was credited with saving a billion lives from starvation.

Yes, that’s billion with a “b” – It is not a typo.

While I encourage you to read through the interview with Dr. Borlaug, I wanted to make sure you saw this important exchange:

Q: Are you surprised at the price increases in wheat, corn, rice and other basic foodstuffs, some of which have tripled in just a few years?
A: I’m not surprised. The energy problem and the food problem are tangled up together. Many of the things that go into our food production system, like fuel for tractors and machines, and for fertilizer, have energy costs. Then there’s the transport system for delivering goods. In addition, there may be speculation also. It’s hard to isolate all of these factors. One change in government policy won’t rectify all of these interacting complications.

In a recent interview with FOX 7, I highlighted the challenges Central Texans face, and how it affects our organization. It’s what I call the “New Normal.” – no more $1.50 a gallon for fuel, and the inevitability of increasing food prices.

Although many of us are hurting financially, we can not forget what these challenges are doing to the soul and foundation of Texas – the working poor. While as Texans, we enjoy boasting about our grandness, and unique way of life; often, it’s the working poor that quietly, and unseen, supports that possibility.

We are all in this together.

But what does that really mean in practice? Some of our Partner Agencies are struggling with 20-30% increases in people served each month. To support these agencies, CAFB is reorganizing and reprioritizing business practices to ensure the flow of food isn’t interrupted or slowed. We’re also impressing upon the community that in good times and bad, hunger is simply unacceptable.

Let me say it again. Hunger is unacceptable.

Why such a bold statement? Because this problem requires urgent action. Take a moment to think about societal norms that we deem as unacceptable – slavery, drunk driving, child abuse, to name a few. Hunger, the inability to access food in socially acceptable ways to survive and thrive, should absolutely be in that category.

My Food Stamp Challenge this past month taught me a great deal about hunger. I now challenge you to say out loud “Hunger is unacceptable” and act on it. For some ideas on what you can do, just give us a call, or visit the “how to help” section on our website.

This weekend’s editorial in the Austin American-Statesman, reported a disheartening, but familiar tale facing social service nonprofits. The economy is forcing food banks and others to cut or amend services when it is needed most. And there’s not enough money coming in from the community to address the need.

We recognize that feeding the hungry today is only part of the solution. We must also come together as a community to create meaningful, sustainable change. If you’re in Lee County, and interested in speaking with community leaders, advocates, legislative representatives and concerned citizens about hunger issues in Lee County, please join us this Thursday.

First Baptist Church - Giddings, TX

July 17

Noon – 2:00 P.M.

First Baptist Church

600 Sunrise Ave.
Giddings, TX
78942

Lunch is provided

Click here for a map.

R.S.V.P. to Lisa Goddard, Advocacy & Online Marketing Manager
lgoddard @ austinfoodbank.org